The prostaglandins are a group of hormone-like substances which may be viewed as derivatives of prostanoic acid. Several prostaglandins are found widely distributed in mammalian tissue and have been isolated from this source. These prostaglandins have been shown to possess a variety of biological properties such as bronchodilation, the ability to reduce gastric secretion, and to modify blood pressure.
The present invention concerns prostaglandin compounds in which the 11-position (using the prostanoic acid numbering system) is substituted with a methyl group. Several 11-methyl prostaglandin molecules have previously been synthetically prepared, see for example Belgian Patent No. 803,854; C. V. Grudzinskas, and M. J. Weiss, Tetrahedron Letters, 141 (1973); and A. Guzman, and P. Crabbe, Chemistry and Industry, 635 (1973).